ABSTRACT

 Agricultural use of water for irrigation is contingent in land resources as reported by FAQ, (2006). In developing countries like Nigeria, irrigated agriculture plays vital role in contributing towards domestic food security and poverty alleviation, in view of the seasonal rainfall and occurrence of drought. Quality assessment of Onu-Imo river for irrigation purpose was carried out. Water samples were collected for both dry and rainy season and analyzed for different water quality variables. Results show that the water is free from contaminations and fit for irrigation purposes as most of the data obtained conform to FAQ standards. The results show that the average values of the temperature of the Onuimo river analysed was 28.5°C is relatively moderate and within the standard limit of 35°C of FAQ. The mean value of the turbidity of the analysed water was 7.8 NTU, which is above the standard of SNTU by FAQ, the mean value of EC for the water sample was 44.2 his/cm. the pH value obtained was 6.65a ± 0.0 which is within the standard for irrigation by FAQ and the mean value of the SAR as calculated from the analysis was 2.81. This shows that the water pose no danger of sodicity. In conclusion, the study of the quality assessment of Qnuirno river for irrigation purposes was carried out and results show that the Qnuimo river poses no risk for irrigation farming. Finally the researcher recommends based on the results that farmers in and around Qnuimo should be free to use the river as source for irrigation farming.